Female Identity and Intersectionality in Contemporary Speculative Fiction

Female Identity and Intersectionality in Contemporary Speculative Fiction Abstract: The goal of this project is to understand how contemporary science fiction and fantasy (speculative fiction) utilize female identity and intersectionality through character agency to explore structural inequality in contemporary society. How do fictional worlds prompt us to look critically at our own? Intersectionality theory demands work at the connections between aspects of identity, so this project examines three categories which intersect with female identity: race, disability, and age. I will analyze novels and short fiction through the application of feminist theory, critical race theory, disability theory, and aetonormative theory (an approach that considers age). My project contributes to a growing body of scholarly research on the literary analysis of science fiction and fantasy. Contemporary media highlight speculative fiction’s relevance in popular culture; however, it is important to engage critically with these works to understand what they have to say about inequality in our own societies. Personal Statement: I did not want to begin this personal statement with a declaration of my long-standing love of reading, the comforts and supports it gives, and how it has shaped the person I am today. While true, such an assertion seems trite. But without this background information, I am not sure how to explain my decision to pursue a project centered on contemporary science fiction and fantasy. Science fiction and fantasy, often collectively referred to as speculative fiction, has always sparked a sense of wonder within me. My favorite stories, past and present, have introduced realms of imaginative possibilities. As I have engaged with wider reading communities, I often recognize the same spark in others; however, as I grew I also began to notice that wonder is often tempered with a critical lens. What does a magic system have to say about traditional gender roles? What can the ramifications of space travel teach about race? These were some of the panel topics at my first genre- fiction convention, and the presenters included fans, publishing professionals, and academics. Speculative fiction draws people of different ages, backgrounds, and professions together, in a space where their insights can be valued and shared equally. I noted these connections formed by wonderful stories again and again, at author readings and online communities with international membership. Drawing together analysis and the arts was not a foreign concept for me. My parents encouraged me from a young age to embrace both creativity and academics. I learned to approach education with an innovative eye, and to see the scholarly value in the arts. Thus, I felt prepared to ask similar questions that I noted from other fans, especially with the rising popularity of speculative media like the adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s "The Handmaid’s Tale" and Marvel’s "Black Panther." What are the benefits to a more inclusive speculative fiction genre? How does representation impact readers? What can fiction do to support the positive transformation of our own world? I was able to engage with some of these questions on a small scale during my 2019 Winter Term course on the Ethics of Resistance and Dissent, where I explored how visionary storytelling can provide a space for activists to develop new frameworks to view the past and imagine alternative futures. Other academic experiences at Elon have given me the opportunity to leverage the skills I gained as a homeschool student. Since middle school I have had the freedom to explore additional topics to the curriculum requirements mandated by the state. This experience gave me an intense ownership of my learning and inspired a passionate curiosity. The availability of dual-enrollment courses at Barton College complemented my independent study with an appreciation for the mentorship of experts. My early education in the balance of creativity and academia provided me with a flexibility and an ability to incorporate learning from different disciplines. At Elon, this has manifested in my pursuit of two majors: English Literature and Philosophy. In many ways literature and philosophy both require a scholar to stretch what they think is possible in their interpretations of material or in the formulation of new concepts. My majors encourage questioning identity, representation, agency, and inclusion. It makes sense, then, that I would want to apply these questions to a genre which I have loved and which prompted me to think in new ways, always with a sense of wonder. I know the passionate curiosity and critical focus I have valued for a long time will be further honed as I pursue this project. Project Description In this project I question how readings of fictional systems of power and character agency are related to our understanding of real-world inequalities, expressly through the lens of intersectionality and female identity as presented in contemporary science fiction and fantasy. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality in 1991 to describe a concept of identity which recognizes the interrelated nature of different social locations and the resulting effects of structural inequality. Building on her approach, I examine the agency of female-identified characters with a focus on three intersections: race, disability, and age. Each of these three nodes of inquiry reflects an important aspect of intersectionality while also narrowing the focus of my research. Intersectionality looks at the convergence of multiple aspects of identity, thus the common thread of female identity running through my research will unite my project as well as maintain a reasonable scope. I will not be leaving the idea of “female” unquestioned however; indeed, I draw from a history of gender fluidity in speculative fiction such as Ursula K. Le Guin’s "The Left Hand of Darkness" in questioning the category of female. As Judith Butler states in "Gender Trouble," “the insistence upon the coherence and unity of the category of women has effectively refused the multiplicity of cultural, social, and political intersections in which the concrete array of ‘women’ are constructed” (Butler 19-20). Her important concepts resurface in intersectionality scholarship. I do not attempt to ask whether science fiction and fantasy are more diverse or intersectional than other genres; rather, I question how such instances of intersectionality are employed. In exploring the relationships between fictional and real-world inequalities, I also explore how speculative fiction might provide a space to engage with issues of inequality within my chosen categories. Employing intersectionality in my analysis allows me to engage with multiple axes of power relationships, where more singular critical approaches may only focus on one aspect of identity. Science fiction and fantasy provide authors the flexibility to approach inequality in a similar fashion, they are less limited by what is considered “realistic” as they imagine how the world might change. In exploring these imagined worlds, we are prompted to understand our own world more closely. Speculative fiction has its roots in the traditions which brought us "The Odyssey," "Beowulf," and works of Shakespeare with fantastical monsters and epic scopes, while Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein" is commonly regarded as the first major work of science fiction. These examples showcase how speculative fiction can have a significant impact on culture. Representation of marginalized groups varies within particular contexts or types of stories, and speculative fiction can showcase distinct perspectives on important social issues. The existing scholarly work on science fiction and fantasy typically focuses on authors such as Tolkien, Lewis, and Asimov; while they are influential, they do not encompass the diversity of speculative fiction writers. I examine works largely from the 21st century, authored by people of many races and genders, which, combined with my focus on intersectionality, will contribute to the growing scholarship in this area. I begin with the aspect of identity most commonly regarded as fixed, race, which I will examine through the lens of Afrofuturism. Mark Dery was one of the first scholars to articulate a definition of Afrofuturism in the mid-nineties, explaining it as “Speculative fiction that treats African-American themes and addresses African-American concerns in the context of twentieth-century technoculture” (Dery 180). Dery and other scholars point to the confluence of past and present in Afrofuturism, which Ruth Mayer frames as “setting out not so much to rewrite the history of the African diaspora, but to systematically deconstruct it, rendering Africa an ‘alien future’” (Mayer 564). I will use these and other scholars to inform my readings of female identity and agency in Afrofuturist fiction. My second node explores speculative fiction narratives of disability. My critical readings include works that apply to ableism more generally, such as Rosemarie Garland Thomson’s book "Extraordinary Bodies," which highlights her focus on “reframing ‘disability’ as another culture-bound, physically justified difference to consider along with race, gender, class, ethnicity, and sexuality” (5) and to “probe the relations among social identities – valued and devalued – outlined by our accepted hierarchies of embodiment,” (7). Thomson also references the relative fluidity of disability, because it is an aspect of identity

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